1. Field
The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, and, more particularly, to a robot cleaner that is capable of preventing dust in a dust tank from being discharged outside.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cleaner is an appliance that removes foreign matter to make rooms clean. A vacuum cleaner that suctions foreign matter using a suction force of a low-pressure part is generally used.
In recent years, a robot cleaner has been developed which moves itself using an automatic running function without the labor of a user to remove foreign matter from the floor of a room.
An example of a robot cleaner includes a cleaner case having a suction port to suction dust or dirt and an exhaust port to discharge air, a fan motor mounted inside the cleaner case to generate a suction force, a dust tank mounted in front of the fan motor to collect dust or dirt suctioned by the fan motor, a suction head mounted at the bottom of the cleaner case, such that the suction head communicates with the dust tank through a connection channel, to suction dust or foreign matter from the floor, and a brush rotatably mounted in the suction head to sweep dust or foreign matter on the floor.
However, the conventional robot cleaner has a problem in that, when a user lifts or inclines the cleaner case, dust collected in the dust tank may be discharged outside.
An example of a cleaner to solve the problem is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-335861.
The disclosed cleaner includes a backward-flow preventing plate hingedly coupled to the sidewall of a guide part such that the backward-flow preventing plate can maintain its horizontal state and freely rotate according to the inclination angle of a housing while the backward-flow preventing plate is in tight contact with the bottom of the guide part, in a backward-flow prevention structure of a dust collector having a predetermined receiving space to store waste introduced through an inlet port by the provision of a step protrusion formed at the end of a guide part extending by a predetermined length from the inlet port.
Consequently, the waste and dust stored in the dust collector are prevented from being discharged out of the dust collector contrary to a user's intention, and therefore, it is possible to freely shift or move the cleaner.
In the backward-flow prevention structure of the disclosed cleaner, however, it is not possible to open and close the backward-flow preventing plate when foreign matter, such as dust, exists in a channel in which the backward-flow preventing plate is opened and closed. Furthermore, when a user lifts and moves the cleaner approximately horizontally, the backward-flow preventing plate remains open, with the result that dust may be discharged outside.